Shades of Konoha: Sunlight and Starshine
by Giada Luna
Summary: Series of oneshots featuring Naruto and Hinata. Chapter 2: Summary - It's always the quiet ones that surprise you.
1. Sunshine and Starlight

_Welcome to the latest addition to my "Shades of Konoha" series! First in the collection of oneshots: Naruto reflects on Hinata._

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 **Shades of Konoha: Sunlight and Starshine  
** **Sunlight and Starshine** **  
**

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They compare him to the sun for his warmth. He is blue skies and sunshine and fiery determination and joie de vivre.

They compare her to the moon for her pale, beauty. She is alabaster skin and midnight hair and pale, light stars and all that is kind and gentle.

But he knows no matter what they say she is not the moon.

For the moon is only a reflection of the sun, and she has her own light.

She is not some heavenly body simply held in limbo between the gravitational pulls of other heavenly bodies.

She is a star who brightly in her own right. It's just that she is gentle and humble in how she burns and she is so far removed from others that it comes across is only a pinprick in the sky.

But those who are lucky enough to get close enough and to see how the star can burn know that she is more sun than moon.

And he basks in her starshine.

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 _I've had a few NaruHina oneshots/scenes in my WIP folders for a while now. Most of them are for a new NaruHina story based on art by Aurora Lynne (a_ _uroralynne dot tumblr dot com) but I'm not even attempting to debut that story until after September 2017. As a writer, I love to explore all kinds of pairings; it makes me a stronger writer and allows me to explore different dimensions of the characters. I completely understand that readers have their preferences as well, and that following what I write doesn't mean they are going to like everything I write. That is okay, friends. If I write your OTP and your NOTP it doesn't hurt my feelings if you don't read the pairing you don't like. You do you, friends - I'll love you no matter what._

 _With appreciation,_

 _-Giada_


	2. It's Always the Quiet Ones

_because It's always the quiet ones that surprise you._

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 **Shades of Konoha: Sunlight and Starshine**  
 **It's Always the Quiet Ones**

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He could barely see her through his one good eye – the other was swollen shut completely – but what little he could see struck terror.

For the life of him, he couldn't figure out where they had gone wrong.

It was supposed to be an easy hit – a woman alone, and recovering from recent childbirth, and her helpless infant. They'd only sent two people so they could split up their escape, but nothing had gone to plan.

His memory was scrambled, and the last reliable thing he could recall was his partner giving him the signal to attack. After that, it was starbursts of pain and fire in his lungs and then nothing. His guard, a pale, emotionless man eyed him coolly – but even this wasn't who had shackled him here.

"Here," he handed her a knife – a thin, dangerous looking thing. "In case he is difficult."

"Oh," - she took it and stepped closer to him, sliding the knife point down his cheek – "I don't think we'll need it," – she pressed it to his neck – "Will we?"

He didn't even dare to breathe, much less reply.

She stepped in until her lips were millimeters from his ear, her voice a whisper of venomous steel.

"I want you to know without any question that I am the reason you are shackled here, and the only reason you are alive is it serves a purpose."

"A... a purpose?"

"You will return to whoever sent you and tell them that Konoha is too strong, and to call off any other attacks. You will not mention my name - not that anyone would believe you if you did. If you do," he made the mistake of meeting her eyes directly, and the temperature in the room dropped with his stomach, "You'll be dead. Just like your partner."

"Oh?" She blinked wide eyes at his surprise. "He didn't tell you?" she asked as his eyes dilated and his breaths shallowed. He flicked a glance to the emotionless guard who shrugged.

"I know you love that part."

"I do," she admitted, her tone nonchalant as if they were discussing the weather. "And you will make sure that the body is found tomorrow. Unless our friend here would rather they find two…?" He shook his head, the cold of the knife a stark reminder to keep all movements small. "No. I thought not," she stepped back and handed the knife back to the guard.

"Oh, and one more thing," she turned back to him. "I was being quite literal about never mentioning our names. Sai here has placed a specific seal on you. Should you mention either of our names, it will activate and kill you immediately."

She stepped in closer then. "My husband is one of the two most powerful shinobi in the world, and if you go near my family ever again, you will wish that I had let him deal with you in my place. Do you understand?"

He gave a small, terrified nod as urine ran down his leg to pool at his feet.

"See that he is escorted out of the Land of Fire. Tell the others – if he returns, he dies."

The pale soldier nodded, and everything went black

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Naruto returned to find his wife sitting quietly with a cup of tea, her knitting next to her.

"Naruto," she smiled, standing. "You're back!"

"Finished up early," he grinned, wrapping her in a warm hug. "I missed you two."

"Come," she slipped her hand into his, and led him down the hall. "I just put him down a little bit ago."

They crept into the nursery, hand in hand, and watched the tiny miracle of their infant son breathing while he slept peacefully.

"I'm so glad you are both safe," Naruto whispered, placing a gentle hand on Boruto's head before turning back to his wife. "I get nervous every time I have to leave Konoha."

"I know," she slipped her arms around him. "But you can ask Sai – it was an uneventful time."

"He wasn't a bother, was he?" Naruto frowned. "I can ask for someone else to be on duty when I leave."

"Sai was fine," Hinata assured him.

"They found a body," Naruto said, his voice lower and more afraid. "He was part of a known rogue-nin duo. Must've had a falling out with his partner, because he was nowhere to be found. When I heard, I was so worried, what if –"

"We are safe," Hinata reassured him gently. "And whoever that person was, he can't hurt us."

"I know, I know," Naruto hugged her tightly. "It's just that if anything happened to the two of you, I don't know what I'd do."

"Nothing will happen to us," Hinata smiled into his shirt, and he didn't see the steel in her eyes when she murmured, "I promise."


End file.
